Mia Birk and her “Joyride” this Thursday

The UO student organization LiveMove is sponsoring a speaker series titled “Movers and Shakers: Connecting People and Places.” The upcoming speaker, Mia Birk, will be at the Oregon Electric Station on Thursday and it should pretty interesting. If the “Transportation ReMix” event that was held there back in October is any indication, it may be standing room only–so be sure to get there for the “social hour” to grab a good seat. Though we all know Eugene was way ahead of the curve when it comes to biking, we still have things to learn from how quickly Portland has taken progressive steps to get more people biking more often. Here’s information from LiveMove about the event:

In the last twenty years Portland has made its name as one of the nation’s most bike-friendly cities, topping ecotourist charts for bicycle vacations and ranking second among Bicycling Magazine’s list of America’s top bicycle-friendly cities. “Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet” tells the electrifying story of the transformation of Portland into a bicycle mecca, plus much more. Author Mia Birk shares behind-the-scenes details of how she and her team helped Portland earn its reputation for bicycling. Furthermore Mia Birk will share stories and inspiration for moving Eugene forward in making cycling a rational, everyday option for even more members of our community.

Who: Mia Birk, President of Alta Planning and Design

Founder of the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation

Adviser to the Post-Carbon Institute

What: Mia Birk will be giving a free talk about her book and the experiences that led to writing it. Q & A and book signing to follow

The event is presented by LiveMove, a student organization at the University of Oregon that studies and promotes active transportation. It is cosponsored by the Sustainable Cities Initiative. The presentation is a part of the LiveMove speaker series, “Movers and Shakers: Connecting People and Places.” Past speakers have included Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign and one of Rolling Stone’s top 28 “climate heroes,”, and Kelly Clifton, a leader in planning and engineering collaboration.

The event will begin with a social hour followed by a lecture. The event will end with a Question and Answer session and a book signing.

Mia Birk was Portland Bicycle Program Manager from 1993 to 1999. She led many innovative bikeway projects for the city helping to turn Portland into one of the most bike-friendly cities in North America. As a consultant she has worked on hundreds of projects across North America. Birk has also had a significant role in many ground-breaking studies on non-motorized transportation. Birk is currently the CEO and principal planner for Alta Planning + Design (ed: who happens to be leading the current Eugene Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan project). She is also co-founder of the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation, Cities for Cycling Project, and Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, and adviser to the Post Carbon Institute.